hi, so i need to choose which motherboard and graphics card i need. i dont need gamer spec stuff as i dont game, but i do watch movies in full hd. if the motherboard can support RAID, all the better, but only if it can do RAID 5 and has a decent throughput. thanks! Budget: £250 for both parts Main uses of intended build: workstation Parts required: motherboard and graphics card Previous build information (list details of parts): will have: fractal R3, i7 2600k, Be Quiet Dark Rock Advanced CPU Cooler, 8GB RAM Monitor resolution: 2 x 1920 x 1080 Storage requirements: will get an SSD and some HDDs at some point will you be overclocking: no Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): USB3, RAID - though this depends on if it is any good and whether it can RAID 5 Extra information about desired system:
You dont really need a graphics card if you are only watching movies and have a 2600k which has an IGP. It does mean you can only use H67 and Z68 boards, not P67.
You say you're not planning on overclocking or gaming. In that case I'd maybe think about saving a few pennies by opting for the non-k variant of the i7-2600. Also maybe save some money by getting a smaller, cheaper cooler as the one you've listed is overkill if you're not planning on overclocking. In fact - and someone may correct me here - the stock Intel cooler that comes with retail CPUs will probably suffice. I'm not sure about graphics - you state you'll be watching HD movies so I'd say decent integrated graphics would do the job... but you also state it'll be a workstation. Will you be doing any video editing or anything like that? Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
will both monitors still run at their full resolution and play HD? is there a specific motherboard you would recommend?
if i drop the cooler, could you recommend one that is equally quiet as that is a big concern i have over stock coolers? i read that the 2600k is better for when using the onboard graphics, is this right? only occasional video/graphics work, sufficiently occasional that i dont mind if the performance is not great.
You can connect up to 2 monitors from the Intel IGP, although one has to be VGA and one DVI/HDMI. VGA isnt great, but if you want to use multiple displays with a Sandy bridge IGP its the only way. A H67 board like this one has 2 outputs you'd need. This one is a Z68 board, good value.
what is the difference between H67 and Z68 #noob EDIT: have read and understood this http://rethinkthought.com/intel-sandy-bridges-h67-p67-and-z68-differences-explained/
